Tag: Ben Henderson

Greetings, Nation. If you haven’t noticed by the all but complete lack of posts this week, I’ve been away from the office (and in fact out of the state) to deal with some legal issues pertaining to a…gambling snafu. Yeah, let’s go with that.

My recent absence aside, the cutbacks across the board here at Castle CP have forced us to severely limit the amount of posts we can put up per day. So I, in my infinite wisdom, figured a John Oliver-esque recap of the week’s events in a single post would be the best way to keep you in the know moving forward, should CP happen to be your lone source of MMA news. Which if it is…

Last weekend’s Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch was something of a mixed bag. On one hand, it featured a main event that was both thrilling from start to finish and a solid reminder that Ben Henderson is a badass, toothpicking-chewing sumbitch in any weight class. On the other, it featured more than its share of underwhelming, glacially-paced sparring matches that stretched its six fight main card to the brink of watchability. (We’re looking at you, Dan Kelly vs. Patrick Walsh. Your fight was bad and you should feel bad.)

Frontrunners for “Worst Fight of the Year” aside, Fight Night 60 also saw Max Holloway tie Conor McGregor‘s featherweight win streak and Tim Elliott hit a Samoan Drop on Zach Makovsky (en route to a unanimous decision loss). So join us after the jump to check out all the Fight Night 60 highlights that the UFC will allow us to have, and what the hell, we’ll even throw some Bellator 133 highlights in there for ya.

Featuring a main event matchup that was only the UFC’s fourth last resort (!!), UFC Fight Night 60 goes down this Saturday in Broomfield, Colorado. It’s a card that’s been getting a lot of heat from hyperbolic MMA fans for being “underwhelming” and “a beacon of the UFC’s plunge toward mediocrity,” but to be honest, it’s not all that bad of a card. So join me after the jump as I break down all six (!) main card fights from top to bottom…

And now, your weekly reminder that Todd Harris is no longer a part of our lives.

In order to get us hyped for Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson III at Fight Night 59 next weekend, the UFC has generously made the pair’s initial meeting at WEC 43 available for viewing on its official Youtube page. In what would be voted “Fight of the Year” by Sherdog when all was said and done, Henderson would defeat Cerrone via unanimous decision and secure the interim lightweight championship in the process.

But rather than give you some paint-by-numbers play-by-play of a fight you can watch with your own two eyes above, we’d rather call your attention to an ultra-brief moment during “Cowboy’s” introduction that we simply cannot stop watching.

At around the 2:13 mark, the camera pans across the audience in attendance at WEC 43 — specifically, those sitting in the premo cageside seats. It’s the classic kind of crowd shot that has given us dozens ofgif-worthy moments in the past (“Girl in the White Dress” hnnnng), but none that stack up to the woman in the red blouse sitting in the second row.

After hours of research that probably could have been spent doing something more productive, we have yet to clarify whether or not the man sitting to her left is Paul Buentello. What we do know, however, is that she is miserable. Like, 8 months pregnant and waiting for her husband to return home with the pizza miserable. (Ed note: Yes, this took us *hours* to determine. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?)

What in God’s name happened to her? Is she tired? Flu-ridden? Under duress? Is she trying to avoid being caught with her sidepiece on camera like that OSU fan last week? Or did we simply happen to witness the exact moment in which Buentello pitched her his latest catchphrase? Infinite possibilities, each more intriguing than the last…

Check out the full video of Cerrone/Henderson 1 above, if you’re into that sort of thing. I, on the other hand, have some phone calls to make.

Souza, on the other hand, recently picked up his third straight UFC win (and sixth in a row overall) over Francis Carmont at Fight Night 36. We highly doubt he’ll be lacking motivation heading into his rematch with Mousasi, who ended his night with an upkick KO when they previously met in the Dream middleweight finals back in 2008. Ah, Dream, how we have forgotten you so.

But Mousasi vs. Souza II isn’t the only big fight to be booked today, not by a long shot…

In February of 2006, former UFC fighter Lee Murray orchestrated the now-infamous London Securitas heist and (temporarily) made off with nearly $90 million dollars. It was not only considered the biggest robbery in MMA History, but the largest cash robbery in the history of the UK.

Last weekend at Fight Night 42, Diego Sanchez accomplished a similar, albeit more modest feat, successfully robbing Ross Pearson of a hard-earned decision victory and the UFC of an event-high $140,000. And in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, no less. While the New Mexico Athletic Commission’s involvement in the brilliantly executed heist remains under investigation, Sanchez appears to be in the clear. For now, at least.

Ben Henderson, on the other hand, must have renegotiated his contract at gunpoint. See what we’re talking about after the jump…

Handling the liveblog for tonight’s FOX Sports 1 main card will be none other than Ryan Harkness, who will be typin’ out round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page for all the latest updates, and as always, follow us on twitter for additional deep thoughts.

(Henderson and Cerrone clash for the first time at WEC 43. Photo via Getty.)

Throwback Thursday is a new recurring column that pays tribute to the stars of an upcoming UFC event by taking a look back at some of their earliest defining moments. For our second edition, we focus on Ben Henderson’s last fight to end in a finish ahead of his Fight Night 42 main event clash with Rustam Khabilov this weekend.

Contrary to what he might tell you, former lightweight champion Ben Henderson does not actually finish fights. At least, not since making the leap from the WEC to the UFC back in April of 2010. Prior to his 9 fight, 8 decision run in the UFC, however, Henderson was a finishing machine, picking up submission victories over the likes of Jamie Varner and Anthony Njokuani and even a quick TKO over Shane Roller while making his name under the WEC banner.

This might be hard to believe, but back at WEC 43, Henderson actually captured the promotion’s interim lightweight championship via a controversial unanimous decision over Cerrone (pictured above) that both fans and many media members felt should have gone the other way. I know right? Crazy times, those were.

Anyway, Cerrone would score a third round rear-naked choke over Ed Ratcliff in his rebound fight at WEC 45, and Henderson would unify the belts with a third round sub of his own over Jamie Varner at WEC 46, thusly setting up the epic rematch that fans had been begging for at WEC 48. You hear that, Jon Jones? THAT IS HOW IT’S SUPPOSED TO WORK.

Join us as we look back at Henderson vs. Cerrone 2, complete with a full fight video, after the jump.

While listening to the latest episode of the CME Podcast earlier today, I was somewhat surprised to learn that Patrick Cummins vs. Roger Narvaez will be the only bout on this weekend’s Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov card *not* featured on Fox Sports 1. Cummins, who was previously heralded as “a beast” and “no joke” prior to getting smashed by Daniel Cormier at UFC 170, has fallen from co-main event-worthy to Fight Passable in just one UFC appearance. (At least they were able to find him an opponent, I guess.)

Cummins’ placement on the card is a kick in the balls to say the least, but likely not the biggest dick move a former Starbucks barista has ever been subjected to in his life. Regardless, the recent crash of “Durkin” stock is one of several interesting facts about Fight Night 42 that you probably won’t find in one of MMAJunkie’s insipid “Pre-Fight Facts” articles. Oh yes, shots have been fired.

That being the case, we decided to basically lift their idea and make it our own, bringing you lesser-known, funnier, and borderline inaccurate facts about Fight Night 42 and its competitors. What? If it’s good enough for Burger King, it’s good enough for CagePotato. Now let’s get started.

Stat #1: Fight Night 42 Marks the UFC’s First Trip to New Mexico

In keeping with its “As Real as it Gets” moniker, the UFC has finally decided to put on a night of fights in a state where the police officers are often more crooked than the criminals. Fight Night 42 marks the first time Zuffa has graced the “Land of Enchantment” since WEC 32 was held in Rio Rancho back in 2008, and the first time the UFC has ever held an event in the state best known as the setting of Breaking Bad. There will be no survivors.